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So yesterday I came into my first encounter with being trapped in a Greek conversation. I didn't know how to escape, or politely get away in order to go work on the other things I needed to accomplish. So the story goes, I went to the library with the intent of getting a few hours of research done for a term paper I need to write. I went to the reference desk hoping to get some help finding my topic in the library since I couldn't do it on my own with just the computer catalog. I had to wait for the man working the reference desk to finish up helping Briana, no big deal I could start searching through my own text book and notes to help me understand my topic better. It took longer than it might have back home, but hey we run on Greek time here and again I had my book to start with. So eventually the guy gets to me, and I ask him my question, we go through this back and forth survey while he tries and figure out what I'm asking or searching for, and then the entire point of my paper. Time elapsed I'm guesstimating five-ten minutes? Then he tells me he's going to start a search on his computer because he doesn't understand my paper topic, he pulls up a chair next to his computer, little did I know I'd be trapped there for a good hour. We wikipedia the topic, click on numerous resources, he goes through my textbook, gets up to help someone else, comes back goes through my text book more, clicks on more sources,and basically goes through every option possible. The result of this is that he tells me he doesn't really know how the help me and that's he's scattered brain because he's so tired. So I'm thinking that's the end of it and I want to go start my research because I have an idea of what I need to do even if he doesn't. Nope, he then shows me how to pull up different ways to look up books, articles, and how to use Jstor, which I knew. That takes another half an hour or so all the while I'm trying to tell him 'hey I got this, let me go do my thing.' Long story short I get away eventually and this guy is completely upset he couldn't help me, or at least that's what he told me. Then I only get maybe half an hour of actual research, not even research but mapping out my essay. So I was confused as to why this guy would do this. From what I read Greeks won't go out of their way to help you if they don't know you, but it was this guy's job to help me. Honestly, I thought he was hitting on me in a weird way because he wouldn't let me leave and then he kept laughing at everything. It was weird, and made me uncomfortable, and frustrated me because I wasn't being allowed to just get up and do my own thing. So why was this guy going so far out of his way to help? He said he was Greek-American so maybe it's a mixture of his heritage. The Greek helpfulness to go far out of your way for certain people, the American perspective to do a job and do it to the best of your ability. That would be my guess but I'm really not sure. I'm not even sure why it annoyed me the way it did. Here was some guy I don't know, going on and on about stuff I already knew how to do, and there was that infliction of being explained something while being talked down to, like I couldn't possibly know. Then there's the feeling of being trapped because you're trying to be polite, you want to say 'hey, thanks for the help now leave me alone' but you can't because that would be rude. It was frustrating because I just had a simple question, 'where can I find this subject', simple answer 'we don't have this in our library,' or 'I've never heard of that, try it under a different topic.' I just wanted something simple and I feel like I got burdened with something overly drawn out. I wonder if this is where cultures come into play, the American with their quick question and then leave me to do it on my own, show me once and I can do it myself. Then there's the Greek, here let me help you with this and everything that goes with, send you off knowing I've done absolutely everything I can for you.